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Culture War Roundup for the week of March 4, 2024

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My point was, you could mostly be correct, especially about how your faith works for you and others who believe as you do, but wrong about the other parts you are basically generating yourself. For the moment let's say you have experienced miracles yourself and you are in God's grace and therefore your knowledge of how that part works is solid. Unless in one of those experiences God told you what He does about children and pagans then you are extrapolating what you know about how God is with you, with how God will be with others.

So when you say families will be reunited, is that because you know, (the same way you know the existence of God) or is it a less certain belief?

Miracles are evidence of God and somewhat weaker evidence for my understanding of God. The belief that families will be reunited stems from my understanding of God. So strictly speaking, [families being reunited] is contingent upon and thus less likely than [God existing], yes.

I'm not really sure where you're going with this, are you trying to argue that the miracles aren't good evidence that families will be reunited? I'll weakly agree with you there, the [families being reunited] belief requires a whole lot more knowledge of God than just what the miracles provided. Those miracles aren't the full extent of my religious knowledge and experience, they're just a few accessible examples.

I'll weakly agree with you there, the [families being reunited] belief requires a whole lot more knowledge of God than just what the miracles provided. Those miracles aren't the full extent of my religious knowledge and experience, they're just a few accessible examples.

Basically yes, which means when you say "families will be re-united" you don't have definitive knowledge of that (even accepting that your miracles are good knowledge of God existing). You should really say that you think the families will be re-united, which does leave your position much more open to critique. You're making a stronger argument for your position than you actually believe.

Stating beliefs without qualifiers is a typical method of communication often used on this very forum. For example:

You should really say that you think the families will be re-united, which does leave your position much more open to critique.

This is a subjective opinion, certainly not one you have definitive knowledge is true, yet you stated it without qualifiers.

Sure, but I said should, which indicates it is a normative statement not a factual one. Whereas "will" is about an event.

If you said, children should be reunited with their families then we wouldn't be having this conversation because I would agree with you.